novelraw Chapter 496: Voice
Chapter 496: Voice
Asuka Karasawa asked this, quite puzzled. She even thought back carefully, but it seemed ever since she came to this world, things had been quite normal. She had never heard any strange voices.
However, to confirm more accurately, she still asked Margaret one more question,
"What kind of voices are you referring to?"
Margaret stared at her for a second, then smiled and pointed forward, gesturing for her to continue walking while saying,
"It is a special kind of voice that comes from within the brain. It comes from outside this world; it is a type of guidance from our world..."
Asuka pursed her lips and followed Margaret's footsteps. She realized the direction they were heading was exactly toward that stone tower in the Ideal State.
"Guidance... Margaret, I don't understand."
"I am different from you, Asuka. I wasn't as lucky as you. When I came to this world, I was all alone, and I was even captured by the Elves to be offered as a slave to their King. At that time, I had completely fallen into despair. But I gradually discovered that some vague words seemed to constantly echo in my brain, like they were constantly telling me something... At first, I didn't take it seriously, until one day, those voices became clearer and clearer, easier and easier to distinguish..."
The expression on Margaret's face remained unchanged, but a faint light flickered in her eyes as she continued,
"It was telling me extremely precious knowledge regarding certain aspects. It was precisely by relying on this knowledge that I barely managed to survive under the Elf King, that I learned the method to control the Loom of Fate and its uses. And piece by piece, this knowledge was verified in practice. They are real.""Ah, is that so... But I haven't heard anything at all."
"It's alright, Asuka."
Looking at the moonlight ahead, Margaret softly deduced,
"It's also possible that you have already heard them, but just haven't realized it yet. Some time also passed between when I first arrived in this world and when I could clearly distinguish those voices. I'll show you a few things, and you'll understand."
Asuka nodded in half-understanding. She had nowhere else to go for now anyway. What she had to say to Teacher Fisher, the feelings she wanted to express, would have to wait until... well, until he was finished. But judging by that level of intensity, Asuka didn't know exactly how long that would take.
Therefore, the two of them quickly passed through the settlements and crowds of the Ideal State once more and returned to the stone tower.
But unlike before, where they walked up the stone steps, Margaret walked in a different direction this time. Very familiarly, she pressed a certain spot on the wall. Immediately afterward, a small door, only large enough for one person to pass through, rose up on the wall.
Inside the small door was very dim, leading beneath the surface, with a cool, chilly breeze blowing out from time to time.
Asuka gulped, but Margaret beside her had already taken the lead to step inside, saying to Asuka as she did,
"Follow me, Asuka."
"Mhm... mm."
After hesitating for a moment, she still carefully followed the figure of the woman in front of her, walking down beneath the surface of the stone tower.
The corridor inside the small door bore no traces of artificial excavation; it was like a naturally formed cave by mother nature. As they went deeper, Asuka's guess was confirmed.
The floor of the corridor was steep. After entering the small door, Margaret picked up a bag filled with glowing small bugs from the nearby wall. She then tightly held Asuka's hand behind her and led her all the way down the corridor for several hundred meters.
As the depth gradually increased, the profundity and emptiness of the space below gradually revealed itself.
Slowly, Asuka's footsteps could already produce overlapping echoes in the surrounding space. With a slight raise of Margaret's finger, a spacious karst cave suddenly revealed itself from the space before their eyes.
In the center of the karst cave, a massive pillar formed after the fact pierced down from the stone wall above. It looked exactly like the pillar in the center of the stone tower that led straight to Death. Around the pillar, many tables had been placed, covered with various glowing files, including many wooden Scrolls from the Tree Continent.
"This place is..."
"This is where I usually conduct my research, Asuka. Come over quickly, I want to show you some things."
Following Margaret forward, Asuka didn't know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to see lines of wriggling text that appeared to have come alive on the papers spread across the desk. At first, Asuka didn't recognize the shape of the text. However, as if it were a mutual destination, when Asuka began to look closely at them, the knowledge began to twist and deform, transforming into the Japanese she was quite familiar with.
"Japanese?"
Suddenly seeing living text from her hometown, Asuka's excitement overflowed in her expression. Extremely impatient, she began reading the text. She quickly read some fragmented, broken concepts.
"Death..."
"Lesser... Authority..."
"Unconscious... God..."
"True Order... Origin..."
"Exchange... unequal death..."
But just as she tried to read the text inside clearly, dense bloodshot veins suddenly sprang up in her eyes. Her entire brain felt as if scorching magma had been poured into it, as if trying to incinerate her sanity and everything else.
"Ahhhhh!"
Asuka covered her eyes in agony and knelt on the ground. The Easter eggs in her basket tumbled out and shattered all over the floor.
Standing beside her, Margaret saw this scene, a hint of surprise flashing through her eyes. She quickly crouched down and supported Asuka, softly saying,
"Asuka, calm down... Asuka, be still... don't let your thoughts wander, just quiet down..."
Beyond Margaret's imagination, as soon as her words finished, the Asuka before her quickly quieted down. She rubbed her eyes, looking pitiful as she didn't dare look toward there again. She only whispered a question to Margaret,
"What was... that just now, Margaret?"
"...It is the knowledge I see."
Margaret smiled slightly, looking at those papers flashing with strange light, before continuing to explain,
"From the moment I could distinguish this knowledge, I started thinking about how to record it. I tried many methods, but basically all of them failed. As you saw, this knowledge... no, it should be voices... they are all alive. No recording method in this world is effective..."
"Then... how did Margaret do it? These... um, papers?"
Margaret didn't let Asuka look at the papers anymore, turning to look around the karst cave instead,
"This is the most primitive appearance of the Dwelling Place of Death buried underground. Everything you saw above, the stone tower and the settlements, were formed after the fact. At the very beginning, when I arrived here following the Loom of Fate, this was what I saw. Here, I saw the seal placed by the Chief God, Ramastia, to lock away Death. His power remained here... and I borrowed that power.
"Only the power of the Gods can record the knowledge in my brain. This made me feel even more curious about them, which is why I have been researching them day after day for the past six months. Initially, I wanted to share them with you. But just now, I discovered a fact. These voices have differences. Since that is the case, the knowledge they carry probably has many differences as well..."
Margaret looked at Asuka, staring at her head and said,
"Just now, when you were reading the knowledge I left behind, a tiny bit of another type of voice welled up in your brain. It was completely different from what I hear. And different voices will clash with each other. A person can probably only listen to one type of voice, which is why you almost had an accident just now. Fortunately, I separated you from those voices in time..."
"I... I have them in my brain too?"
"Yes, you do. Only, it is very, very little. It seems the quantity of voices in every Transferred Person is different..."
Margaret talked to herself as she walked to the front of the desk. Asuka had just been traumatized and absolutely didn't dare to go over again. She only firmly memorized 'a person can only listen to one type of voice' in her mind.
"Earlier, I also discovered a few other properties concerning these voices..."
"First, the total amount of voices constantly increases. With the passage of time, it will teach you more and more, but similarly, the burden on you will also become greater and greater. Slowly, like an ulcer on the bone, it will occupy everything in your mind until you can no longer think of anything else. But I found a method to alleviate this problem, which is to record them onto certain special mediums. This is also my purpose in writing them down."
"Second, the medium for the voice is singular. Once this knowledge is recorded onto certain mediums, these mediums will produce an extremely tight connection with you. I once tried to throw them away, but in the end, they invariably returned to my side, following like a shadow. So presumably, the medium for these voices is singular to me."
"Additionally, I discovered something interesting. The Chief God's power that I previously used to carry the voices is now nearly depleted. Therefore, I attempted to borrow the power of the unconscious God of Death to carry them... But a strange thing happened. They exhibited the same collapse phenomenon as when ordinary physical matter bore the voices... the power of Death was unable to bear my knowledge."
As she finished speaking, Margaret turned back to look at Asuka behind her, only to see her looking back foolishly. It was as if she could completely not digest what Margaret had just said. Absolute, uncommunicable befuddlement flowed through her clear eyes. Even though no words had been spoken, Margaret felt as if she was asking, 'So, why are you telling me all this?'
"Then... Margaret, why are you telling me all this...?"
Sure enough, in the next second, Asuka truly opened her mouth to ask exactly that.
Margaret took a deep breath. She smiled and walked back to Asuka's side, opening her mouth to say,
"Asuka, aren't you curious why this knowledge would appear in our minds?"
"Because... because we are Transferred Persons?!"
Asuka instantly became excited. Because she suddenly thought of the transmigrators who crossed over into Western fantasy worlds in manga; those protagonists were all very special. So perhaps Transferred Persons like themselves were protagonists similar to them, making them very special?
Margaret's brow twitched, but the smile on her face remained unchanged. She simply continued,
"You are not wrong. It is indeed because we are Transferred Persons. Precisely because of this, we naturally bear a potentially existing mission: leaving this world. From the very beginning, those voices told me the method to go home. In my view, the so-called knowledge is nothing more than the methodology to achieve that goal...
"Although I do not want to return home because I have absolutely no attachments in that world anymore, thus I can use this knowledge to establish my new home... But Asuka, you are different. You want to go home, don't you?"
Asuka nodded without thinking, then said in puzzlement,
"But... but I already know how to go home, Margaret. As long as I retrieve the Tear of the World Tree, the Archangel Pandora will take me to the place in the Spirit World that leads to the outside world... Could it be that this method is incorrect?"
Margaret shook her head. Looking at the young girl before her with deep meaning, she softly spoke,
"No, Asuka. This method is correct. The voices told me exactly the same thing... But what the voices additionally told me, which Pandora failed to tell you, is..."
"She cannot take you there at all. Because that place is a location several Demigods cannot even reach."
"That place is called... the Ultimate."
...
...
At this time, in the Royal Capital of the Tree Continent.
Inside the towering walls, it was currently brightly lit. Countless carriages and horses jammed the wilderness outside the city so tightly that not a drop of water could leak out. The auras of Elves of the Mythical Species constantly rose and fell. This scale of grand attire had not been seen since Bing ascended the throne more than ten thousand years ago.
Of course, the specific meaning of this was extremely easy to decipher: the Elf-kin had mobilized.
If one wanted to probe their intentions, one had to temporarily shift their gaze into the Royal Capital. Crossing past the towering, magnificent wooden buildings and the trees that were hundreds or thousands of years old inside the Royal Capital, one would arrive at the Jianmu Palace, wrapped in layers upon layers of Spatial Turbulence.
Unlike the heavy traffic and bustling crowds outside, although the candles were lit once more inside the Jianmu Palace, it was still desolate and quiet.
Amidst the comings and goings, many maids with their hair tied up in Peach Blossom buns were walking through the palace in neat lines with their heads down, transporting the remaining items in Jianmu Palace back and forth.
At this moment, since Bing's passing and reincarnation, this place was temporarily handed over for his elder sister Tao to take full command of.
Inside Jianmu Palace, those trees that radiated a dense aura of death, previously used to extend the Elf King Bing's lifespan, had been uprooted entirely by her. The stone steps and wooden blocks that had been ruined and completely drained of color were renewed, turning back into their elegant original forms.
Lord Tao sat alone on the stairs in front of what used to be Elf King Bing's bedchamber. She quietly stared at the small tree glowing with the golden light of Destiny that was growing outside the bedchamber. That was the tree her brother Bing was reincarnating into.
Behind her, the massive phantasm of the World Tree had completely disappeared into nothingness. This already signified that Mother's Dimension had started to move, projecting her power and gaze toward where the Eye Trees had been anchored.
This matter would be resolved very soon. Because under Mother's wrath, whether it was Tsubaki or that Transferred Person possessing the Loom of Fate, both would turn to ashes and smoke in an instant.
She had suffered injuries. Right now, quite a few branches hung upon her body, with only one or two Peach Blossoms attached to the tips, making her look much quieter and gentler than before.
But of course, her true nature was impossible to change. She was only being so quiet right now because she was simply pondering on past matters.
The matters of that Transferred Person... would it truly be this simple?
Bing extending his lifespan previously had made Lord Tao incomparably furious. At first, she was angry at his suspicion of her. But before Bing's death, what he told her had laid those suspicions to rest...
First was that fellow, Gui. That fellow had been missing for over ten thousand years. If she had never shown up from beginning to end, Bing would not have gone this far.
She must have shown her face and was discovered by Bing.
Bing's power at his peak was even stronger than hers. He definitely could unearth more unknown secrets, especially concerning that Gui, who had disappeared for so long...
One must know that Bing, Tao, and Gui were the three supreme children appointed by Mother. No matter which one of them it was, they were extremely important parameter to the Tree Continent and the Elf-kin. She just vanished just like that; it was impossible that Tao and Bing didn't search for her ten thousand years ago.
The result was obvious; the two of them couldn't find her at all. Later, they sought Mother's guidance. The result was that even Mother said she didn't know where she was. One must know that at that point in time, the World Tree hadn't even lost the Loom of Fate yet.
In the end, this matter actually just fizzled out into nothing. At the very most, Bing and Tao just felt she was free-spirited and unwilling to bear responsibilities. While condemning her morally, they had no choice but to let her go. Since she never enjoyed the corresponding rights over the Tree Continent for a single day, her not bearing the obligations was just fine.
But right now, Bing suddenly brought up that fellow Gui again. He must have known something. But why did he not tell her? Just as he was forcing himself to speak before his death, his head was lopped off by that damn Transferred Person...
"These damn Transferred Persons!"
As soon as she thought of the terrifying power of Chaos upon that Transferred Person, the Peach Blossom branches growing from her body started to ache slightly. The lightning flickering through them proved that her wounds had indeed not completely healed.
Next was the second matter: exactly where did Bing get all these methods to extend his lifespan?
Only after Bing was hacked to death with many knives did the World Tree, faithfully devoted to her duties, notice. Of course, after she returned, she only saw the missing Loom and her dead child.
Half a year truly was but a fleeting second to the Elf-kin, let alone the World Tree. Which is why the World Tree suffered a moment of negligence. A few years ago, she yielded to her child's request and handed the Loom over to him to delay the pursuit of death, never expecting it would lead to a catastrophic mistake.
Putting aside the settling of accounts that happened later, Lord Tao finally had an opportunity to sit down face-to-face with Mother to check the records.
The result from crosschecking was that she had only given Bing the Loom. She had done absolutely nothing else...
"Lord Tao, there are a few Scrolls here that were not placed in the Internal Affairs Pavilion, but rather were left inside the King's bedchamber. Do we go put them back into the Internal Affairs Pavilion, or..."
"Why are you asking me about such trivial nonsense! Go put them away, small fry!"
"We are incredibly sorry, Lord Tao. It was just because these items were placed in a hidden compartment under the King's bed, so..."
"A hidden compartment?"
She had already searched it once before and discovered nothing strange. To have a hidden compartment suddenly pop out right now meant there was only one possibility.
That was, this hidden compartment was tightly sealed using the power of her brother, Bing. Only like this could he hide it right under the nose of Lord Tao, who was also a Nineteenth-Tier. Yet, ever since Bing expired, his residual power gradually diminished, only revealing the hidden compartment keeping items inside after his power completely vanished.
If so, then the things kept inside should have been exceedingly important to Bing...
At this thought, Lord Tao beckoned with her hand once more. Telling the group of maids who were about to turn and leave,
"Halt, small fry. Bring them back here and show me."
"Yes, Lord Tao."
The maids respectfully offered up the Scrolls they were holding. With a casual wave of her hand, Lord Tao made the Scrolls twist and open of their own accord. Tens of pages flew out from inside, automatically spreading open mid-air.
Inscribed upon them using a highly unusual text that Lord Tao did not recognize were assorted records of content. She could only understand the array of drawings. Sketched above were some outlines of trees closely matching those that had been planted before Bing's bedchamber.
If Mikhail had been there, he would certainly have recognized the text wasn't any strange language; rather, it was text coming from their world: French.
As Lord Tao scanned through them rapidly, Scroll after Scroll dropped to the ground. In the very end, a strange record of internal affairs emerged.
This record was penned in Elvish text. It recorded in detail the employment information of a human maidservant working inside Jianmu Palace.
It did not mark down where this maidservant came from, nor did it state how she had been recruited internally. Ultimately, it only left behind the maid's name and her tenure of office.
Lord Tao already recognized that name. But the date... Out of her expectations, it was one hundred and twenty years ago.